Every day on highways and roads across the U.S. and the world, slow drivers often block faster vehicles in fast or middle lanes. In support for blocking behavior being a legal problem, the United States Uniform Vehicle Code states: Upon all roadways any vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane traffic permitting. It is also illegal in many states in the U.S. to fail to yield to faster moving traffic that is attempting to overtake slower traffic in the fast lane. Now a common problem arising from the behavior of slow violating drivers blocking faster drivers is that faster drivers often resort to dangerous tailgating. These actions can lead to road rage and potential danger for all surrounding vehicles.
A reporting driver hoping to pass a slow motorist in the “fast lane” can be stuck in an awkward situation. One strategy, which is dangerous and illegal, is to drive very close to the “fast lane” driver's bumper (tailgating). The National Safety Council estimates 38,300 people were killed and 4.4 million injured on U.S. roads in 2015, which saw the largest one-year percentage increase in deaths in half a century, resulting in an average of 105 deaths and 12,055 injuries per day. Many accidents are caused by slow drivers in the left lane. These slow drivers annoy other impatient drivers who are driving faster, causing them to move in and out of traffic, which results in accidents.
It should also be noted that many drivers also drive too slow in the middle lane and block faster drivers from proceeding ahead. This can also apply to a two-lane road. In this case the one lane can be considered the fast lane. No matter how many lanes a slow vehicle should not block a faster vehicle. This type of driving violation may be almost invisible to the casual observer. This is because when traffic moves, the infraction of slow driving in the middle lane effectively disappears to the casual observer. Therefore, the problem caused by slow drivers in the fast or middle lanes can be difficult to identify and ascertain.
Various approaches exist for monitoring vehicles in lanes on highways and roads. Two well-known approaches employ a sensor to measure vehicle speeds in multiple lane highways from a fixed overhead structure. Another known approach also employs a sensor used from a fixed physical position to monitor vehicles in their respective lanes. But none of the above cited approaches detect and solve the problem of slow drivers blocking the path of faster drivers in the left or middle lane of roads and highways.
Unfortunately, certain automobile associations instruct slow drivers to stay in the middle lane, regardless of the speed they are driving and even if the right lane is unoccupied.
Therefore, a need exists for improvements over the current state, and more particularly for more efficient methods and systems for improving the driving behavior of drivers on the public highways, namely, slow drivers in both fast and middle lanes.